Iran cuts off internet as protesters start fires in widening unrest

Iran was largely cut off from the outside world on Jan 9 after the authorities blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest, as videos show buildings and vehicles ablaze in anti-government protests raging in several cities.

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protesters in Tehran watching vehicles burn, as seen in a screen grab obtained from a social media video released on Jan 9, as anti-government unrest continues in the country. While the initial protests were focused on the economy, they have morphed to include slogans aimed directly at the authorities.

(PHOTO: REUTERS)

Rights groups have already documented dozens of deaths of protesters in nearly two weeks and, with Iranian state TV showing clashes and fires, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported that several police officers had been killed overnight.

In a televised address, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed not to back down, accusing demonstrators of acting on behalf of emigre opposition groups and the US, and a public prosecutor threatened death sentences.

The unrest has not mobilised as many layers of society as other bouts of political, economic or human rights protest in the past decade and a half, but dozens are reported dead, and the authorities look more vulnerable because of a dire economic situation and the aftermath of 2025's war with Israel and the US.